Kaseifu no Mita #9-11 [Final]

Ratings (Kanto) :

#9   [27.6%]

#10 [28.6%]

#11 [40.0%]  (!!!!!)

Average: 24.8%

My Rating :  #9 4.5/5 || #10 4.5/5 || #11 5/5 = 4.44 (avg)

The 9th episode was a balanced episode between comedic and serious moments IMO.. Mita quitted the Asuda Family and... worked for the annoying neighbour next door. It was like a slap in the face (for some weird reasons, I cringed watching Kii-chan at school & Mita appeared to take Tsubasa-kun home). The reason why Mita is so ready to take orders - even impossible ones - was revealed in this episode... The children knew about it and stopped her in time. & for the first time, Mita lost her composure and got mad with them. They reminded her that she didn't have to do all these and begged her to return to them on her free will.

And Mita is back in the 10th episode... & it was decided on her free will.  Mita was beside herself in this episode. She's becoming more human XD .. Anyway.. I love the scene where the children appeared at the amusement park to like... save Mita. They insisted on her to stop buying family set food, sit, & left those food untouched until the closing time. I thought it was sweet that they said they'll eat those food if she ever return there again :')  Another thing that amused me was the father's priceless look when Urara told him that she fell in love with him lol

I'm starting to see that in the end, it's not just about knowing the truth about father's affair (and reluctance to being a father), or mother's death or Mita's background... it's how they choose to move on with life after knowing all that. I love how this dorama emphasizes on that matter without covering the darkness of the those truths. It's like... yes, yes, it's hard to understand why it happened, it's complicated, it's upsetting... but you are still alive anyway... you're responsible to keep on being alive...& to live your life to the fullest.

After watching the 11th episode, I kind of understand why the rating was 40%... GOSH. What an eventful episode. I cried and cried again... Best scene would be the moment Mita finally smiled again *just thinking about it made me want to cry again*. Such beautiful moment & great performance by Matsushima-san. I was so happy that some of the characters hugged her... I was like "Please hug her, Arumi-san. Please hug her for me"  & they hugged <3... and Kii-chan too. Now I kind of wish to see Matsushima-san & Miyu-chan act as mother and daughter XD .. I love how this episode was more to the bright side, bringing people back together and - depending on how you see it - promising happy endings to those who deserved it. 

I want to believe that human relationships can be that beautiful... that you don't have to be family or relatives to understand others' pain... & don't doubt it when it happened & when people could support each other even though they are clearly strangers. And of course, we could think of it logically ourselves about what should & shouldn't been done.. but once in a while we want to hear it from someone else's mouth to really convince ourselves to do what we are supposed to do. I always think that advice works better this way. Like most of us who would not listen to our own advice unless it's repeated to us by another person... another voice that isn't ours.

Perfect ending is perfect.

NazoDi, Kaseifu, HUNTER #4

Ratings (Kanto) :
FTV Tues 9pm || NazoDi #4 [16.7%]
NTV Wed 10pm || Kaseifu #4 [19.5%]
FTV Tues 10pm || HUNTER #4 [12.0%]

My Ratings : NazoDi 4.5/5 || Kaseifu 4.5/5 || Hunter 4/5

What's with these fourth episodes??? ALL were really good! lol

I don't know why, suddenly I feel excited to watch HUNTER ...maybe because I got used to the characters already?

Anyway, they didn't catch anyone this time.. but the fourth one deals with a marriage swindler. It was kind of sad how the old man wanted to help her change without telling her he knew who she was.


And Kaseifu... GOSH. This family is truly a dysfunctional family! I know Kii-chan went that far to get her family together again (the kid is so sweet! but maybe she's too young to understand how bad it is that their father wanted a divorce and thought of leaving them behind)... but a young child like that, threatening to end her life (why I'm not surprised? children copy what their parents do) if her family doesn't get back together - WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS FAMILY?

So it wasn't really a shock that the Kaito-kun could talk about killing someone like that in eps two... to think that Mita was a danger to the family and people around the family... they need Mita! For some weird reasons, they need Mita to keep them sane (I guess?). As I understand the reason why the father doesn't act much like a father should be from the previous episode, I like seeing him frank about his feelings ("I don't know.") when Kii asked him if he loves her. I got a bit teary-eyed at the scene the father slap little Kii... (it was appropriate IMO, I mean this child just threatened to jump off from the 1st floor for pete's sake!). Those stones Kii keeps... I didn't expect it would be quite symbolic here... (& I totally predicted Mita had the father's stone all along!).. In the end the father leaves the house because Yui wanted him to..


I got a bit teary-eyed for NazoDi too... The episode..or rather the case didn't follow the usual formula this time so it was refreshing to watch. Is it that hard to recognise the lady Kazamatsuri erm.. have a crush on is his own subordinate??? Hmm. And. From the beginning, I already feel that Kitagawa isn't ladyish enough to play this role... Her role, Reiko, is full of contradicting traits! I'm kind of curious why she pursues a career in the police department...  Is this a problem of the way she play the role OR the character itself is this flawed???  Bad acting or flawed character? I'm inclined to think the former is the problem.

Anyway... that aside, the scene Kazamatsuri arrived (as if he's Reiko's prince on a white horse or the white horse itself XD) was really funny! & Reiko tried to cover her face from being recognised by him. They were at the same place to attend Reiko's friend's wedding.

I love the fact that this episode has Morimoto Leo and Kobayashi Ryoko (MAOU'S SHIORI!)'s cameo appearances. Weirdly, I kyaa-ed during the scene Kageyama saved Ryoko's character from falling down the stairs... I was thinking that if this is Ohno's dorama THEN that scene was supposed to be... Naruse & Shiori reunion!!! LOL

Trust Kageyama to take on the role as Reiko's fiance that easily ..sasuga.. XD

This episode makes one think (or maybe only me XD) whether Reiko and Kageyama will end up like the old mistress & her butler (50 years!)... I thought the ending scene was kind of sweet. Kageyama asked her how long will he be calling her "my lady"... (I'm still on the Kageyama-likes-her theory) in which she reassured him that the time he call her "madame" will come XD...

It is wrong to think that they'll end up together, right? I mean... this isn't like "Mei-chan no Shitsuji" XD Why do butlers in doramas have to be this good-looking??? XD

NazoDi, Kaseifu, HUNTER #3

Ratings :
FTV Tues 9pm || NazoDi #3 [16.4%]
NTV Wed 10pm || Kaseifu #3 [19.8%]
FTV Tues 10pm || HUNTER #3 [11.5%]

My Ratings : NazoDi 3.5/5 || Kaseifu 3.8/5 || Hunter 3/5

Nothing much to say about HUNTER's 3rd episode... except maybe it's nice to see how their bounty-hunting activities had started affecting their lives... at least Kazumi's marriage life.

Kaseifu no Mita...I'm starting to think what would happen if Mita isn't working with the Asuda family... I mean.. whoa. It's as if this family shouldn't have exist in the first place. In this episode more things were revealed about the father's extra-marital relationship & *SHOCK* something about the wife. The mother was the kind of person who would threaten her life to get what she wanted. *offtopic-ish* My biology teacher in secondary school was someone who got married to a person like this. She told the story casually though... that the man would go crazy (???/It sounded like a threat to me) if she doesn't marry him.

I personally don't think it's right to do things this way & also to give in to someone like that. This kind of explains why the father isn't so much like a father to them (since the 1st eps) because it was (really) against his will to start this family.. Anyway.. I can't help noticing the actress who plays Yui kind of have forced expressions during scenes she got mad at her father.. the change in character was kind of awkwardly shown (but understandable though). But she's really scary when she's mad! I have to remind myself that this isn't a horror movie. :P

Oh, yeah. It was fun watching the other siblings "stalking" Mita-san. Another side of Mita was shown... she went to an amusement park, ordered a 2-person set of food and just sat until it's closing time as if she's waiting for someone to come. What was that?

& OH Yui... Her anger made her *foolishly* order Mita to spread about the affair at father's office. This incident caused the father to be discharged from his current project (that ironically uses family as a theme).

NazoDi had a somewhat interesting case...  hmm... It seems like they have lessen the comic-like scenes I find annoying in the beginning episodes. The flow is actually better now without those erm... special effects(?). Kageyama continues to attract me (Sho always gets interesting characters! *whines-Where is my new Ohno dorama?????*). I mean... seriously.. tokusatsu heroine? lol.. but in the end I was completely deceived by that! I didn't realise it would serve as something important :P

At first I thought Kageyama might hate his mistress/or serving her.. but it seems it's not? He's sharp-tongued alright..but he's acting like a teenager who bullies the girl he likes :P




Ah. Another thing. It hurts my heart to listen to "Meikyuu" in the end 'cos I didn't get to purchase the LE version of the single. I'm feeling better now after I re-watched "Uta no Onii-san" again :P and also I found a place where I can buy it (I don't care if the price doubled/multiplied :P)...

NazoDi, Kaseifu, HUNTER #2

Ratings :

FTV Tues 9pm    || NazoDi #2 [16.1%]

NTV Wed 10pm || Kaseifu #2 [18.7%]

FTV Tues 10pm  || HUNTER #2 [11.8%]

My Ratings : NazoDi 4/5 || Kaseifu 3.5/5 || Hunter 3.5/5

HUNTER --- Meh. Still not feeling anything. But that old mother's [mother of the criminal the bounty huntresses caught this time] acting caught my attention.

I really love actors/actresses that use their eyes to convey their characters' feelings. Which is why I love Ohno Satoshi & Alec Su as actors... *off-topic-ish* Some actors/actresses act as they supposed to according to their script & still you feel they have some kind of emptiness in their eyes.

Excerpt from Enshinge@LJ's translation of a magazine article about Ohno (link):

When we asked, he says that way before he received the script, when he was initially offered the role and was told about “what it was about, and what the role would be like,” his antennae had already started working. 

“Like, what kind of person would I be acting as? How would I express that as? And then the history and the background of the time in which it’d take place. It’s just that various things that have to do with it keep welling up in my head.”

It's kind of ironic that this came from someone who doesn't like acting that much but still can do it better than those so-called actors/actresses who do their work half-heartedly. Oh well.. can't expect all of them to use method acting if they prefer other ways that I don't like very much to act...

.... *feeling some anger on absence of new Ohno dorama in 2011 coming up again XD*..

Moving on...

Episode 2 of Kaseifu was just okay for me. The ultimate (I think) order was given. Killing someone. WHOA. Okay it wasn't really a "WHOA..." moment (in fact, actually I was a bit disturbed that a kid could think of killing someone for the sake of the society..*boy, you think too much*). I'm glad he learnt something in the end. It wasn't much, but I can see that Mita is really as much human as everyone else (maybe because there were more talking scenes that didn't involve work). Really curious of why she can't smile. Father actually wanted to divorce on the day the mother committed suicide. Kii is has become more attached to Mita. I love the scene she asked Mita to sing along with her. LOL. Mita sang monotously in a not really tone-deaf way.

NazoDi was fun - the case was interesting - with a number of cute scenes. But I really don't find Kitagawa ladyish... yet? (I have to wait??) Chemistry is better(?)...I think. Not really talking about the characters' chemistry. It just looked like Kitagawa has gotten comfortable acting with Sho. Butler Kageyama doesn't really do his job that well XD I mean why can't he wake his master up early... I kind of suspect that he hates being a butler and/or serving wealthy ladies. Hmmm. But I love his bookworm side. Getting excited seeing books like that...haha.. "I'm going to return it later I after I read it!" Oh... I also always do like the victim did, you know. Using whatever paper I found nearby as bookmarks :D 

Also... Gardener Kageyama's dinosaur! Epic! for the Jurassic Park fan in me XD.. 

I've fallen in love with "Meikyuu Love Song"! It takes time to warm up with this song but now it's stuck in my head..hehehe The PV was cute and fun.. It's "Aiba Sugoroku" once again though it kind of have "Love So Sweet" PV's vibe to it... It doesn't take long for me to declare it a favourite (My best 3 Arashi PVs are Truth, Love So Sweet & Meikyuu Love Song)..

NazoDi, Kaseifu, HUNTER #1

Decided to watch three doramas for fall 2011 :P 

Unless it's a dorama with actors that ARE good at acting, I'm picking doramas based on the plot & HD space lol.

I'm watching...

1. Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato de [the dorama that got me all worked up because it's Sho's dorama & not Ohno's dorama this season lol]
2. Kaseifu no Mita
3. HUNTER ~Sono Onnatachi, Shoukin Kasegi~ 

Ratings :

FTV Tues 9pm    || NazoDi #1 [18.1%]

NTV Wed 10pm || Kaseifu #1 [19.5%]

FTV Tues 10pm  || HUNTER #1 [9.8%]

My Ratings : NazoDi 3.5/5 || Kaseifu 5/5 || Hunter 3.5/5

I watched all exactly in this order. Man..the quality! The quality of their acting is really obvious! 

NazoDi is a detective dorama where the butler is more detective-like compared to his master (an heiress who happened to work as a police detective)... and his master's partner/or superior? (who also happened to be a billionaire who chose to work as a public servant). I've never been a fan of Sho's acting abilities (It's me nit-picking I guess.. I find him always smiling and his understanding of his character seem lacking). I wasn't much impressed by Kitagawa either after watching Mop Girl. I thought she would have at least improved a bit (Mop Girl was from 2007) but judging from the first episode, it doesn't seem like she did. If any, I thought it got worst than before. For now, JUST A PRETTY FACE. Her fanboys may say otherwise but then that will just put them on the same level with Sho's fangirls :P. To be honest, I think Sho's performance is better. But that may be because he doesn't have to smile a lot (it's a bit like his character in YamaTaro). Shiina Kippei is a good actor (love his expressions) but his character is kind of annoying XD. Somewhat he reminded me of TRICK's Yabe (but Shiina wasn't as expressive as Namase Katsuhisa). I do still look forward to Episode 2 (butler doramas get my attention since I saw Mei-chan lol~). My favourite character is Sho's Kageyama because he gets to call his master stupid XD. I think it started from the moment he was in the box near the vegetable market, unable to move from his spot to stalk his master XD. *I'm sounding more like a Sho fangirl lol*

NazoDi seems comedy-like. There were scenes laid out in a comic strip style. But it's somewhat dark too (not in a Maou way). If they intend it to work like a dark comedy or something, it's not working for me. (OR is it supposed to be a satire type dorama???).

Fresh from watching NazoDi, I moved on to Kaseifu. GOSH THE DIFFERENCE... The kids alone are better actors/actresses compared to Kitagawa. *oh the horror* Among these three doramas, I look forward most to watching Kaseifu's future episodes. It was a promising 1st episode. In a way, I felt somewhat enlightened. Haven't watch Matsushima-san's recent doramas... so it's been a while since I saw her acting. I've always love watching her because she can play many kinds of roles. Here she plays a housekeeper who just started working with the disorganized Asuda family. Her character is a mysterious one. She's an excellent worker but she's always expressionless, unaffected and speaks in a monotone way. The scene where she bought little Kii to the river was... wow... it shows how she really takes her job seriously. Like VERY seriously. I laughed at the part where she hosed the family's nosy neighbour down. Was she really just doing her job (to avoid the fire spreading to the neighbour's house)? Or was she doing some kind of revenge in defence for the family she's working with? MYSTERIOUS. & the father. I bet the father had an affair (which is why the mother committed suicide?) Anyways, Aibu Saki is in this too, playing the aunt role (from the mother's side of family) & thank god she isn't the lead. The kids' acting were natural which makes it a pleasant watch.

HUNTER. I don't know yet what to feel about this dorama. It's the first time I see Yonekura Ryoko acting (saw a bit Okusama wa Majo on TV but not long enough to leave me any impression on her acting). It's good, very expressive :). Kiritani Mirei is in this too. Her character is the cutesy type (which annoys me at time but no doubt will make her fanboys happy :P) but she's the kind who have a pretty face and is a better (but not necessarily good) actress than Kitagawa. I like the side characters too... good actresses. Toda Keiko looks youngish in her character, to the point where I wasn't sure it was her at first. And there's also... Tanihara Shosuke! I like watching him in Mop Girl. His character in HUNTER have the same vibe with his character in Mop Girl (didn't watch his doramas much though) minus the Romeo part :P.

Maou X Trick

Oh... That "Trick" series.

Three seasons + 2 SPs + 3 Movies + 1 Spinoff <333


I love the quirkiness of the main/regular characters. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that this is really brilliant work. It wouldn't suit the general audience's taste [of doramas] but when it does, it's a marvelous feeling. It makes me happy to notice those inside jokes and items from past cases showing up everywhere... and the YAMADAxUEDA pairing(!!!!!!) <3

It is SO OBVIOUS that they have feelings toward each other. Even if the scenes happen because of other selfish reasons, THEY LOVE EACH OTHER. Trick 3 ended with that marriage proposal unreadable character. It could end that beautifully... but with sequels in the form of dorama SPs, movies and a spinoff, they can't pair these two [yet]...so..we are served with the usual quibbling couple again.

Oh, well. They'll always grow old and happily married in my ideal fanfics.

Sorry..this review is an odd one.

Actually I want to blog about Maou. There were several cases in Trick that reminded me of things that made me love Maou. Love to watch Maou. (I think it's weird to say you love a revenge story). First, the second story in Trick 2. The accurate fortuneteller story. The whole thing, about how she made her fortunetellings "accurate", is like Naruse's way. The Sweet Potato guy spoke of her as committing crimes without "dirtying her hands". I remember watching this story the first time in the past and thought it was a really clever trick. I wished to see more of things like this...and when I [finally] watch Maou last year, I was awed by Naruse-sensei's plans and how they turned out successfully. (Man... That was brilliant!!)

Then there's another story : the fourth story in Trick 3. The Kameyama family. I could only see this one with Maou in mind after I already watch Maou. The Kameyama's lawyer. He didn't plan out things like Naruse but by not telling the present family about their financial problems, one family member killed the others...and in the end everyone gained nothing. The lawyer purposely became the family's lawyer so that he can ruin the family. When I saw this scene, I went "MAOU!!!!!!" LOL Oh.. And he was avenging his younger sister (Maou, brother!!!), who committed suicide because the Kameyama family decided she wasn't fit to be a Kameyama's wife.


End of Maou X Trick rant.


Someday, hopefully, I will write a crossover fanfic on this.

Why People Can't Enjoy Watching Maou

Hello.

Gosh. Sometimes I regret not being a part of the Maou era (2008)... Actually the thing I regret most regarding Maou era is I didn't get to purchase the limited edition of "Truth/Kaze no Mukou" single. *BIG SIGH*

Anyway. So.. yeah..sometimes I regret not being a part of the Maou era (2008).. but there ARE some times I'm glad that I'm not. For example, that scandal (which I did happened to read anyway when I was still not Ohno-baited & was moved when I read the news Ohno bowing to the drama crew to apologise). And also this (see link).

Unfortunately for local fans, I believe that Ohno Satoshi, in terms of looks and popularity, is not only no match for Toma, he also falls way behind the Korean leading man. ::::: from : http://aibakaland.forumup.org/about3009-105.html :::::

I know everyone will have their own reviews/opinions on doramas but duh... IF POSSIBLE, do that after you finish watching the dorama!!!

LOL. I always go to defensive mode when I read negative reviews on Maou. I just don't get it. It's a complete package! It's almost perfect. I mean, how can you not see how great this dorama is??? Are you eyeless or stupid or something???

Which brought me to these hypotheses:
"Why People Don't Like Maou"/"Why People Can't Enjoy Watching Maou"
1. They've watched Mawang before and kept comparing those two dramas so couldn't enjoy when watching the japanese version. Too short? "It's not like that in the original one!"

2. They have something against (or have prejudice towards) the cast (or Arashi?). Especially Ohno Satoshi. I did have reservations on Ohno's acting skills at first but that didn't stop me from watching though. I started watching as a fan of Ikuta's acting (I love Nakatsu!) and finished the drama completely Ohno-baited and converted into an Arashi fan. I already know who Arashi are since I watched Hanadan in 2005 but as far as I could remember, I wasn't Jun-baited (Or Nino-baited). At one point, I don't really get why people get crazy over Arashi too (LOL, gomen!). Anyway... I'm swaying off my point here... JUST GIVE THE DRAMA A CHANCE, WILL YOU?

3. They didn't finish watching. Well. There are people who said it's not good even though they haven't finish the whole thing... so that's why you can't enjoy this dorama.

4. Japanese dorama isn't your thing/This dark, revenge a la Monte Cristo theme is not your cup of tea.


[Written in a defensive Maou mode]